The future starts this weekend

The big ban is almost here - an historic day for the trade. Whether you are for or against it, fear it or have already embraced it at your pub, it is happening. The challenge now is to see the ban as an opportunity to do new things with your business and attract pub virgins as we move into a new smoke-free era.

Since it was announced that the smoking ban was definitely happening, many operators have risen to the challenge of finding innovative ways of preparing their businesses for the new smoke-free era, such as developing outside areas or introducing a food offer.

One thing is certain - the vast majority of people, including smokers, have come to accept that banning smoking inside pubs is a good idea. Anecdotal reports from Wales, where the ban is only a few months old, suggest that new customers have been attracted to pubs as a result of smoke-free conditions. In pubs offering food, smoky conditions have become a barrier for key customer groups whose visits need to be encouraged - families, females and the grey market. These customers have been making more and more regular dining-out visits. The brave new smoke-free world will be welcomed by them.

It is fantastic to see that in the week the ban starts, Greene King and JD Wetherspoon are both mounting offers to attract new customers to the pub. Their thinking is that the sooner lapsed customers are enticed into giving their smoke-free pubs a try, the better. It's a shame that the industry big-hitters couldn't have joined forces to mount a generic campaign - perhaps on national television - to trumpet the joys of pub-dining in the smoke-free era.

It hasn't happened, but why not follow the lead of Wetherspoon and Greene King in the weeks to come by mounting an offer or two to herald the new age? For those of you who have made efforts to prepare for the ban by offering decent smoke-shelter provision in your pub garden, the future, which begins this weekend, should even be accepted with equanimity by your smokers. Good luck as this new and opportunity-filled period begins.

Jo Bruce, PubChef editor

Leave a message: 01293 610487 or email jo.bruce@william-reed.co.uk

Lucy Britner: 01293 610365 or email lucy.britner@william-reed.co.uk